Differences in the psychopathology of women with bulimia nervosa with or without a history of overweight or obesity

Objective Our aim was to identify if there is a difference in the psychopathology associated to bulimia nervosa (BN) among patients with or without history of overweight (OW) or obesity (OB). Methods Fifty women, age 19.7±2.8, diagnosed with BN, attending an Eating Disorders (ED) Clinic were included. Maximum weight (MW) was explored. The Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI‐2), validated for the Mexican population was applied to assess psychopathology. Maximum body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Patients were divided in 2 groups: with a history of OW/OB (HO) and without (NHO). Results Initial weight and BMI were 55.3±8.5 kg and 22.1±3.3. There were 5 underweight patients, 35 normal weight, 9 OW and one OB. Prevalence of HO was 60%. HO had higher MW and BMI than NHO (70.2±10.2 Kg, 29.5±4.8 vs. 58.2±6.5 Kg, 23±1.6). HO reached MW at age 15. Statistical differences (p<0.05) between HO and NHO were found in: initial BMI (23.4±3.4 vs. 20.2±2.2), ineffectiveness (15.7±8.2 vs. 9.2±6.1), interpersonal distrust (8.8±4.2 vs. 5.6±5.2), maturity fears (11.8±6.5 vs. 7.3±5.5), ascetism (10.3±3.8 vs. 8±3.5), social insecurity (11.1±5.6 vs. 7.6±5.3) and on the global score (144.3±46.8 vs. 114.4±40.4). Conclusion Frequency of HO among women with BN was higher than that observed for the general population at this age range. HO patients had higher psychopathology associated to ED than NHO. History of overweight/obesity could guide the clinician to identify more severe and chronic BN cases and should be further explored as a predictor of treatment response.